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March 5 (Reuters) - Two former executives who helped develop the "Call of Duty" video game have filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard Inc for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract, LA Times said.

Jason West and Vince Zampella, who were sacked by Activision on Monday, have filed a $36 million lawsuit with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the paper said.

The complaint alleges that the company fired the executives to avoid paying them royalties on the military game Modern Warfare 2, which was released in November and has generated more than $1 billion in retail sales, LA Times said.

West was the president and Zampella the chief executive of Infinity Ward studio, acquired by Activision in 2003, and developed the original "Call of Duty" game and several others in the franchise.

Activision released a statement calling the lawsuit "meritless" and claiming that the pair did not "honor their obligations" to the publisher, though it failed to specify what actions led to their dismissal, LA Times said.

Activision could not be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by Amulya Nagaraj in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman)